


Apology

by NihilismBot



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight (sort of), Mention of Canonical Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NihilismBot/pseuds/NihilismBot
Summary: Sharla apologizes to Reyn for how she acted when they first met.
Relationships: Reyn/Sharla (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Apology

**Author's Note:**

> I've always liked Reyn/Sharla but also I acknowledge that the writing left a lot to be desired. Not just with Reyn/Sharla but Sharla's character arc overall was pretty poor in an otherwise amazing game. I wanted to try and at least make Reyn/Sharla feel less "replacement goldfish."

A gentle breeze rolled by, making Sharla's hair tickle Reyn's neck before she placed her head on his shoulder effectively pinning the stray hairs between them. She quickly readjusted her position, pushing her hair behind her shoulders to prevent the small tug at her scalp. With a sigh, Sharla closed her eyes and seemed to feel the view rather than see it.

It was increasingly common for Sharla to spend time in Colony Nine rather than her own colony. After the group had defeated Zanza, she immediately went to help Juju and Otharon oversee the reconstruction of their home. But she quickly realized that Juju had proven more than capable of the feat and her being there served more to cause Juju stress than aid. 

"Sharla, I know I needed you to look out for me in the past but, I've got this!" Juju insisted. 

Sharla frowned and crossed her arms, "It's too much work for one person, let alone a child."

"But it's not just me! All of the villagers have been helping me and taking over projects and overseeing the colony's growth. And Otharon's been helping me manage keeping an eye on the overall growth and he does enough mother-henning for at least two of you!" The corners of Juju's mouth upturned in a small smile.

Sharla returned the smile. "That's true."

"So please, Sharla, you've already done so much for the colony. Let me take care of this! You need to let yourself rest."

She agreed on the condition that her younger brother ask for help the moment he felt at all overwhelmed. And with that, she tried to relax as the colony began to achieve a steady rhythm. It was hard for her though, standing by while everyone was working. So, she decided to take a brief visit to Colony Nine.

It didn't take long for her to reunite with Reyn and she soon was making more frequent visits to the sister colony. Sometimes Vangarre would ask her to help train the medics, but most of the time, she would watch Reyn train, or help Fiora cook, help Dunban with his physical therapy, listen to Shulk talk about his latest projects, or go on walks with Melia. 

By far, her favorite activity was what she found herself doing now, sitting at Outlook Park with Reyn and enjoying each other's company.

"I owe you an apology." Her statement seemed to come out of nowhere and it took Reyn a second to register the words.

"What do you mean?" Reyn tried to look at Sharla, but their current position made it hard for him to see her in more than his peripheral vision. 

She opened her eyes but didn't look at Reyn, focusing on a random leaf dancing in the wind. "When we met, I'm sure you noticed how I immediately...latched on to you. I kept comparing you to Gadolt…"

"Ah, yeah, that…" Reyn was unsure as to how to respond.

"The truth is, we were never in love, Gadolt and I… He was always more of an older brother to me and I assume I was like his younger sister." She sighed and scrunched up her nose. "When I was about Juju's age, the elders would always talk about how we would be married once I was of age. Of course we fought it at first, but then... Well, it seemed inevitable so we just went along with it.”

It wasn't something Reyn could really relate to, he had always been told how he would scare girls away with how loud he was. 

Sharla idly kicked at the ground. “Of course I was devastated when he went missing, how could I not be? He had always been there for me and now he was gone and I didn't even have a body to bury. But, I had to keep strong for Juju and all of the colony. I told myself he wasn't dead and that we would reunite.” She sighed, “I suppose technically we did.”

Reyn tried to keep still as Sharla spoke. When she didn't immediately continue, he gave her hand a small squeeze and he heard her give a light hum. 

“When you and Shulk came to the colony...I don't know... I guess I saw hope in you and that hope reminded me of Gadolt...” She laughed weakly. “You and him...you two aren't all that alike. He was always practical, level-headed, competent...”

“Hey now!” Reyn interjected, “Are you calling me incompetent?”

Sharla laughed more earnestly. “Not at all! But you're passionate, you don't just do things because it's what's needed or expected of you. You do things because you want to do them. When you help others, your whole heart's in it. Gadolt... I don't know that he ever did anything for himself... He was a great man, always committed to helping others. But, I knew him my whole life and I don't know if he ever did anything because he wanted to do it. Helping people was just another task he had to do.” 

“That ain't true.” Reyn turned to look Sharla in the eyes, which unfortunately meant forcing her off his shoulder. “I don't know about any other time but when he sacrificed himself on the Mechonis, he did that because he wanted to keep you safe! It wasn't just his duty, he loved you and wanted to do everything he could to save you!”

Tears began to form in the corners of Sharla's reddening eyes. “Thank you, Reyn.” She quickly wiped the tears away, took a deep breath and forced a laugh. “You're right, that was probably his first selfish act.” She took another deep breath and shook her head as though trying to jostle the sadness out of herself. “But, I didn't mean for you to reassure me about Gadolt. I meant for this to be an apology, not a plea for comfort.”

“You don't owe me any apology, Sharla.” Reyn smiled warmly. 

“I do!” Sharla insisted. “When we first met... I suppose I had a bit of a conflict. I knew I was to be married to Gadolt despite any lukewarm feelings on the subject but I also... Hmm...how to put this delicately...” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple as she did when in deep thought. “Your... **physique**...is...” The corners of her lips turned down as a blush crossed her cheeks. “Impressive...”

The words were spoken slowly and through gritted teeth, it took Reyn a moment to fully understand her meaning. Once he did, a huge cocky grin spread across his face, one that seemed to grow proportionately to Sharla's reddening cheeks. “Oh, I see how it is-”

“Shut it!” Sharla hissed. She closed her eyes to avoid further embarrassment from seeing that cheeky expression. 

She still felt it.

Letting out a huff of air, “ **Anyway** ,” Sharla continued, “I suppose my mind decided to handle this conflict by telling me that any...curiosity...in you was due to a resemblance to Gadolt. I made up a version of you in my mind and clung to it.” She opened her eyes again. “You don't deserve someone loving you as some fake image.”

It was Reyn's turn to blush. He scratched his cheek to try and hide it.

Sharla placed her hand over his. “I got to know you in our travels. You're sweet, you're honest, you're spirited... I want you to know that what I'm saying is to you, the real you.” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Reyn.”

This wasn't the first time Reyn and heard her say this but it hit differently now. She had been thinking about it. She had thought about what she wanted and she still chose him. He sat there, a bit dumbstruck, trying to find the right words. His lips parted before he had decided on what to say. He swallowed hard and went with the first coherent thought he had.

Unfortunately, that thought was, “Like a brother?”

Sharla was a bit startled by the question and jolted back slightly as Reyn made the pained expression of “why did I say that?” Once the shock wore off, she couldn't help but laugh even as Reyn buried his face in his hands.

“No, Reyn,” Sharla managed between laughs. She again leaned against him as she continued to laugh at his expense. 

The weight was reassuring against his shoulder, something warm for him to focus on instead of the cold feeling of humiliation still churning in his gut. Reyn peaked at Sharla through his fingers and managed to smile. 

He lowered his hand and put it over Sharla's as her laughter died down. 

“I love you too, Sharla.”


End file.
